Teens and kids these days spend so much of their time glued to their computer screens. They surf the net, play online games, chat with friends, and even create new accounts on social networking sites. Some parents are even worried that their children could be missing out on too much real life experience by spending so much of their time glued to their computer screens. It is estimated that teens and kids between the ages of eight to twenty-four spend approximately 44.5 hours per week in front of computers. While many of these young people may be involved in various activities, the majority of them are merely viewing images and entertaining themselves at home.
Unfortunately, it is not just parents that are alarmed by the amount of time that children and teens are spending in front of computers. Many business owners as well as school administrators are alarmed by the amount of time that kids and teens are spending on the internet. The reason why school administrators and business owners have become alarmed is because they are seeing a drastic decrease in academic performance by students who do not use the internet for internet safety. Studies have shown that students that spend more time on computers perform better in school.
Parents often ask, “Why is my child spending time on computers?” Often times, the answer to that question is related to an answer that is easier to understand. Kids are spending time on the internet for a new interest. A new interest can be dangerous when it is pursued for a long period of time. If a kid is spending time online for a new interest, parents should be prepared for the possibility that the time spent online will be quite intense.
The Internet is also a very popular means of communication for kids. This has become much more so since kids and teens have become much more computer literate. The Internet provides a forum for teens to express themselves in a safe way. Many websites allow for a much easier means of expressing themselves by allowing users to post things online in a form of writing or blogging. The only problem with this form of communication is that there is a high level of privacy involved that is difficult for most people to maintain.
Many teens and kids are more comfortable viewing things on a screen rather than looking at something real. As such, they are more likely to look at things on a computer than they would look at on the newspaper or in a book. The same thing goes for studying habits. Kids are much more likely to look at a computer than they are to read a book. The only difference is that the computer is making it easier for the kids to get things done while the parent is not even having to be present.
In today’s society, it is extremely important for kids and teens to develop the skills necessary for interacting with others. One of the best ways to teach this skill is through home schooling. By home schooling, the parent can monitor the kids and teens’ computer usage and learn how to identify certain behaviors that might be related to computer use. If parents are not home to supervise the home schooling, then there are other ways for parents to learn the skills necessary for monitoring the kids and teens computer use.
For instance, one way parents can learn to monitor their children’s and teens’ use of computers is through watching the behavior. Kids will spend two hours a day on the computer, so it is logical to assume that if they are spending two hours on the computer at school, then they are probably also going to spend two hours online. If they are not sitting at their desks in front of their computers at school, then they are probably spending that time online as well. Therefore, it is important for the parent to see if they child is sitting in front of their desk at school and using the computer at the same time.
Another way parents can learn to monitor their kids and teens’ screen time is by purchasing a parental control program for the computer. The program is designed to block websites and instant messaging programs that are distracting. This is important because teens often spend a lot of time on social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter. In addition to protecting the child, this type of program can also allow parents to see which websites their kids are visiting and spending time on. This will allow parents to block sites that are inappropriate.